Korean soldiers at Normandy

Hard to believe there were some Koreans present at Normandy in service with the Wehrmacht.

"It seems that the Koreans had been conscripted into the Japanese Army but after being captured by the Russians at the Battle of Nomonhan in the Russo-Japanese War (part II, the 1940’s one, not the 1904-05 one). They were pressed into service in the Russian Army. Captured by the Germans in a battle near Moscow, the Koreans were then pressed into service in the Wehrmacht. They were then captured by the Americans whilst they were engaged working on the Atlantic Wall. The Americans (mercifully) did not press them into service but rather held them as prisoners of war.

It seems that these poor souls never made it back home to Korea as apparently the Koreans were exchanged with the Soviets for American POWs liberated by the Red Army. "

"The name of the soldier in this photo is Kyoungjong Yang who was born in Shin Euijoo, Northwestern Korea on March 3, 1920. He was conscripted to the Kwantung army in 1938 and captured by the Soviets in Nomonhan and captured again by Germans in Ukraine in the summer of 1943, maybe in the battle of Kharkov, and captured finally by Americans in Utah beach, Normandy on June 6, 1944.

He was freed from a POW camp in Britain on May, 1945 and moved and settled in America in 1947. He lived near the Northwestern Univ. in Illinois until he died on April 7, 1992. He lived as an ordinary US citizen without telling his unbelievable life story even to his two sons and one daughter."

Story of Koreans in Normandy is also in Citizen Soldiers, an exerpt from the book is on a previous thread of mine.I remember hearing a story of a Private from the 29th Infantry Division talking to his CO about the international diversity of the POWs his platoon had just taken prisoner; he said, "Captian, just who the hell are we fighting, anyways?"

I live near an old WWII army training base called Camp Swift and it had a large POW camp for Germans and with the Germans they had a group of guys from Mongolia. I guess they were in the Russian army and captured by the Germans who took them to North Africa as that is where most of the German Pow's came from. The book did not say what ever happened to them but I thought it strange you would come from Mongolia and end up in Texas.

I live near an old WWII army training base called Camp Swift and it had a large POW camp for Germans and with the Germans they had a group of guys from Mongolia. I guess they were in the Russian army and captured by the Germans who took them to North Africa as that is where most of the German Pow's came from. The book did not say what ever happened to them but I thought it strange you would come from Mongolia and end up in Texas.

As always, anouther good post JC !

Thanks again TA152 . Its funny to see that Kyoungjong Yang goes to a British POW camp and then after the war winds up in the US. I bet he never thought of how his life was going to be when he was first capyured by the Soviets LOL.

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Story of Koreans in Normandy is also in Citizen Soldiers, an exerpt from the book is on a previous thread of mine.I remember hearing a story of a Private from the 29th Infantry Division talking to his CO about the international diversity of the POWs his platoon had just taken prisoner; he said, "Captian, just who the hell are we fighting, anyways?"

One of the lesser known incidents at Omaha beach; several Polish Americans discovered Poles of the Ost Battalion in the trenches and bunkers. Conversing in Polish they were able to prusuade them quickly to surrender. In one case they were talked into returning to their bunker and taking the 'German' NCOs prisoner for the Yanks.

Dear JCFalkenbergIII,
Thank you for your insightful comment that the Americans "(mercifully)" did not press the Koreans captured in Normandy into service. Instead, they were sent back straight to Stalin where (like all Soviet POWs forced to serve the Germans in any capacity) they faced certain death, preceded most likely by vicious torture in the Gulag, the Soviet equivalent of the Nazi Konzentrationslager system. A moving example of American mercy indeed.
Thanks,
Sikander

Dear JCFalkenbergIII,Thank you for your insightful comment that the Americans "(mercifully)" did not press the Koreans captured in Normandy into service. Instead, they were sent back straight to Stalin where (like all Soviet POWs forced to serve the Germans in any capacity) they faced certain death, preceded most likely by vicious torture in the Gulag, the Soviet equivalent of the Nazi Konzentrationslager system. A moving example of American mercy indeed.Thanks,Sikander

Whoa there Sikander, before you set about making baseless accusations, you need re-read JC's comments.

It seems that these poor souls never made it back home to Korea as apparently the Koreans were exchanged with the Soviets for American POWs liberated by the Red Army.

I didn't see any of the words you attributed to him in any of his posts. If you have concerns about how those men were treated, I suggest your direct your comments to those who made the decisions and not hold JC up to ridicule for things he has not posted.

Thanks Jeff. I went back over my previous postings in this thread and I can see nothing that he implies as to what he thinks Ive said or meant. But what a way to start here with a first post like that. And of course I was talking about the Korean in the picture.

"He was freed from a POW camp in Britain on May, 1945 and moved and settled in America in 1947. He lived near the Northwestern Univ. in Illinois until he died on April 7, 1992. He lived as an ordinary US citizen without telling his unbelievable life story even to his two sons and one daughter."

Instead of adding to the discussion about the treatment of the others he had to make a rude and sarcastic post in response to what he percieved and that was obviously wrong.

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[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

Thanks Jeff. I went back over my previous postings in this thread and I can see nothing that he implies as to what he thinks Ive said or meant. But what a way to start here with a first post like that. And of course I was talking about the Korean in the picture.

"He was freed from a POW camp in Britain on May, 1945 and moved and settled in America in 1947. He lived near the Northwestern Univ. in Illinois until he died on April 7, 1992. He lived as an ordinary US citizen without telling his unbelievable life story even to his two sons and one daughter."

Instead of adding to the discussion about the treatment of the others he had to make a rude and sarcastic post in response to what he percieved and that was obviously wrong.

My mistake. The comment about the "merciful" failure to press the poor Koreans into service and about sending them instead back to Stalin was not made by JCFalkenbergIII, but - as far as I understand - quoted by him from Thomo's Hole. Is that correct? Sorry for the wrong attribution. All I wanted to say was that the Allies at the end of the war condemned tens of thousands of people to cruel death by sending Cossacks, White Russians and, it would now appear, a few Koreans captured on the Western front back to the Soviet Union. I hope that clarifies it. Apologies if my mistake upset you guys.

I doubt that you will find anyone in this forum that thinks the decisions to send persons such as you mention to the Soviet Union a good idea. However, at the time naivete about the intentions and absolute brutality of the Stalinist regime was not fully appreciated.

[quote name='sikander.mleccha']My mistake. The comment about the "merciful" failure to press the poor Koreans into service and about sending them instead back to Stalin was not made by JCFalkenbergIII, but - as far as I understand - quoted by him from Thomo's Hole. Is that correct? /quote]

In that you are correct LOL. The post is a quote from his site.

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.